By Mitra Majeedy in TOLOnews, April 04, 2023 at 7:13 PM
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said that despite Afghanistan being the world’s largest and most severe humanitarian crisis, OCHA’s 2023 appeal has received less than 5% of its requirement to help people in need in Afghanistan.
OCHA said that 28.3 million people in Afghanistan need humanitarian aid, of which 23% are women, 54% are children, and 8.3% of them are with severe disabilities.
“Despite Afghanistan being world’s largest & most severe humanitarian crisis, the 2023 appeal has received less than 5% of its requirement, making it the lowest funded aid operation globally. Without urgent resources, millions of people risk missing out on lifesaving aid, incl. food,” OCHA tweeted.
“Their priorities shift, and a new event occurs every day. Hence, based on this, it is essential for our nation to stand on its own two feet and make the best use of both natural and human resources,” said Azerakhsh Hafizi, an economist.
Meanwhile, David Beasley, Executive Director of the World Food Program (WFP) said in an interview with CNN that due to the lack of money, six million people in Afghanistan are on the brink of famine.
“Right now, because of lack of money for Afghanistan people, this is a nation of 42 million people, of which over 20 million people are in severe food insecurity, but six of them are knocking at famines door,” Beasley said.
According to Abdul Latif Nazari, deputy minister of the Ministry of Economy, many Afghan citizens continue to require humanitarian assistance, and as a result, the Ministry has asked for further assistance from aid organizations.
“We ask the international community and aid agencies to continue their assistance to the people of Afghanistan so that we can implement our plans to reduce poverty,” Nazari noted.
In the meantime, WFP in a statement said that Japan contributes an additional $5 million to WFP in Afghanistan.
The statement said that nearly 20 million Afghans are faced with hunger and six million of them are one step away from famine. WFP added that the organization urgently needs $800 million for the next six months to assist Afghans.
https://tolonews.com/afghanistan-182823
